I’ve been listening to the radio a lot recently. There are three radios in my house: one in the kitchen, one on the bedside table, and one in my home office. From the soothing sounds of BBC Radio 4 Extra at night, Seattle’s KEXP and Kerrang! during the day, to whatever happens to be on Radio 6 Music when I’m making dinner, the radio has been my constant music companion in the last year or so.
It has also, over many stretches of time, even replaced my streaming services for listening to music daily. Don’t get me wrong: Apple Music (interspersed with Tidal for work) with its curated playlists and my saved library are always near my fingertips, especially when I’m on the move. And to give credit to Apple Music’s algorithms, their top picks and weekly recommended playlists are very, very good. As someone who likes to listen to the same things over and over again, I like how its algorithm has learnt my habits and stays within my genres when recommending music I might (and will) like.
